Disposable foot covering



DISPOSABLE FOOT COVERING Filed May 11, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS'. 14A 5597' STIQUBLE By MERE/f7 z. MQFF/f; JA?

ATTOP/VEX 1956 A. STRUBLE ETAL 2,764,823 I DISPOSABLE FOOT COVERING Filed May 11, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS'. AzM/er STAUBLE BY Mme/7r 4. MOFF/TZ' JR,

A TTO/PIVEX United States Patent DISPOSABLE F90 1 EQVERING Albert Struble, Drexel Hill, andMerritt L. M0flitt,.Jr., Havertown, Pa.

Application May- 11, 1 9 5, Serial Nos 5073626 2 Claims. (Cl. 36-9) Our invention relates to a new and useful'disposable foot covering of appropriate flexible and stretchable material and has for one of its: objects to. provide an exceedingly simple and inexpensive article of manufacture which can be. Worn temporarily toredu ce. to a mini.- mum the possibility of infection while the wearer is without shoes and/or hosiery and to prevent. minor in juries while walkingon rough surfaces. or those contain.- ing debris or foreign substances.

It being desirable to produce an inexpensive item of the character mentioned which can. be discarded after an initial". use thereof, another object of the. present invention is. to provide a structure that can be expeditiously formed from a blank and. readily fashioned to shape without complex or difiicult operations.

Another object of this invention is, to construct a foot covering produced from an. appropriate blank. by simply folding certain parts: thereof upon other portions of the same and pasting them together while in. a. fiat condition.

Another object of" the invention is to provide. an article that can be manufactured by the employment of relatively simple automatic machine elements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a disposable foot covering, comprised of an. integral flat material' sheet blanked to form a sole portion and a toebox portion, the latter being. folded and superimposed on said sole portion and the two portions being pasted together along sectibns of the perimeters in face to face relation to produce the foot covering and, further, either one of said portions having additional integral means in the region of the inner end? of the toe-box to practically or substantially prevent the start of a separation action at the pasted joints between said portions.

A still further object. of this invention is. to provide integral tabs projecting from theside edges of either one of the sole or toe-box portions of the foot covering and folded over the exterior surface of the other one of saidportions contiguous the inner end of" the formed toe-box, said portions and the tabs being pasted in place in flat face to face relation; said tabs reinforcing thejoints betweenthe foot. covering portions and" functioning to prevent the starting of separating movements of the jioined parts at the inner ends of the joints.

Still: another object of the present invention istoprovide tabs at the sides of either one of the sole or toe-box portions and: arranged to be folded over the" other portion parallell to the axis of the foot covering. itself at the inner ends of the pasted joints.

Withfthe above and other objects in view this invention consists of the details. of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and; then desig nated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention .appertains may understand how to make and use the same we will describe its construction in detail referring. by numerals to the accompanying drawing forming. apart hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is an inner face view of a flat material blank 2. from which the foot covering, is produced, the reinforcing tabs being. shown as formed on the toe-box portion.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a disposable foot covering formed. from the blank in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view thereof showing the foot covering stretched as it would be on a persons foot.

Fig. 4 is a section through the foot covering on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3' in the region of the reinforcing tabs.

Fig. 5 is an inner face view, on a reduced scale, of a slightly modified form of blank showing the reinforcing tabs formed on the sole portion.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the foot covering formed from the blank in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 also is aninner face view of the flat material blank, similar to Fig. 1, showing. a further modification of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a top plan. view of the disposable foot covering produced from the blank in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a side view of the. foot covering asiwhen intuse.

Fig. 10 is an inner face view, on. a reduced. scale, of another form of blank.

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the foot covering produced from the blank depicted in Fig. 10.

In carrying out our invention as herein embodied reference will be made first to Figs. 1- to 4' wherein 10 represents the actual disposable foot covering compris ing a sole member 11 and a toe-box member 12 overlying and connected with the forward part of said sole member 11' along their complementary perimeters.v

This foot covering is formed from a. fiat blank 13, Fig. l of appropriate flexible and stretchable sheet material, for example crepe paper, cut to desirable size and configuration. The blank includes a sole portion 14 having the side edges of the forward area thereof con.- verging towards the toe end to provide a. generally tapered forward part or toe section 15 and the rear area of said sole portion has convergent side edges to form a generally tapered rear part or heel section 16. By preference the toe section 16 is slightly wider than the heel section.

The blanlc13 also includes a toe-box portion 17 having its side edges diverging towards the outer end or reverse to the forward part 15 of the sole portion 14. whereby said toe-box portion and the forward part 1501? the sole portion. are of substantially the same shape. and area. This toe-box portion is integral. with the. sole portion and the blank. has a narrow waist at the: juncture of said portions where the blank: is to-be folded. as indiacated by the. dashline 18. When the. toe-bore portion. 17 is. folded over and. superimposed flat upon the flat? forward part 15- of the sole portion 14 the side edges of said. portions coincide, as suggested inFig. 2 andare pasted together along relatively narrow areas. contiguous. said side edges by an: appropriate adhesive 19 applied. to the meeting surfaces of either or both of said sole and toe-box portions.

In order to prevent or reduce to aminimum. the chances of! breaking or starting of separating; movements of joints at the instep end: of the toe-box 12 the toe-box;

portion 17 of the blank has integral tabs 2% projecting; from opposite: side edges thereof contiguous said instep end. These tabs are folded over the edges of: the: sole portion. 14; particularly the forward part 15 thereof, and] pasted to the outer surface of said. sole. portion by an" appropriate adhesive 21 applied to what are the reverse faces of the tabs in the finished article. Thus the inner ends of the pasted joints between the sole and toe-box of the foot covering in the region of the instepend of said toe-box are reinforced to overcome the chances of a rupture of the joints at said instep end of the. toebox;

Thetoe ends of the joints are reinforced or protected by the fold which forms a closed toe for the foot covering item.

The modification it) illustrated in Figs. and 6 is generally the same as the foot covering first described and includes the sole member 11 and the toe-box member 12 overlying and connected with the forward part of said sole member fit along their complementary perimeters. Also like the first described type of device the modified foot covering fit is formed from a flat blank 13, Fig. 5, of appropriate flexible and stretchable sheet material cut to desirable size and configuration. The blank includes a sole portion 14 comprised of a forward part 15 and a rear part or heel section 16. The blank 13 also includes a toe-box portion 17' which is substantially the same size and shape as the forward part 15' of the sole portion 14. Said toe-box portion 17' is integral with the sole portion and the blank has a narrow waist at the juncture of said portions where the blank is to be folded as indicated by the dash line 18'. When the toe-box portion 17' of the blank is folded over and superimposed flat upon the fiat forward part 15' of the sole portion 14 the side edges of said portions coincide and they are pasted together along relatively narrow areas contiguous said side edges by an adhesive 19' applied to the meeting surfaces of either or both of said sole and toe-box portions.

In the modification the integral tabs 20 project from opposite side edges of the sole portion 14 of the blank at the location of the instep end of the toe-box portion 17 when the latter is folded over upon said sole portion 14 to form the finished toe-box 312 of the completed foot covering 10. These tabs 20' are folded over the edges of the toe-box portion 17 adjacent the instep end thereof and pasted to the outer surface of said toe-box portion 17 by an adhesive 21 applied to the reverse faces of said tabs. Therefore, like the first described form, the inner ends of the pasted joints between side edges of the sole and toe-box are reinforced in the region of the instep end of said toe-box to prevent or reduce to a minimum the likelihood of said joints starting to separate at the location of the instep end of said toebox.

The form of foot covering 22 shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 also comprises a sole member 23 and a toe-box member 24 overlying and connected with the forward part of said sole member 23 along their complementary perimeters.

This type of foot covering likewise is formed from a flat blank 25, Fig. 7, of appropriate flexible or pliable and, preferably, stretchable sheet material cut to desirable size and configuration. The blank toe-box portion 30 of the blank has integral tabs 33 projecting longitudinally or parallel to the axis of the blank from the instep end of said toe-box portion at both sides thereof. These tabs 33 are folded around the shoulders 29 and over parts of the side edges of the sole portion, particularly the toe section thereof, and pasted to the outer sur face of said sole portion by a suitable adhesive 34 applied to what are the reverse faces of the tabs in the finished article. Like the other described forms of the invention the inner ends of the pasted joints between the sole and toe-box members of the foot covering in the region of the instep end of said toe-box member are effectively reinforced.

Similar to the hereinbefore described types of foot covering the modification 22, Figs. 10 and 11, comprises the sole member 23' and the toe-box member 24 formed from an integral blank 25' including the sole portion 26', consisting of a forward part 27' and a rear or heel part 28', and a toe-box portion 30' foldable on the line 31 to be superimposed upon the forward or toe part 27' of the sole portion 26 and pasted thereto along their perimeters by an adhesive 32. In this last described modification the shoulders 2? are formed on the instep end of the toe-box portion 30 at both sides thereof while the tabs 33' are produced on the sole portion 25 at both sides of the latter in the region of the juncture of the forward or toe part 27 and the rear or heel part 28 by forming short slits as continuations of the side edges of said rear or heel part 2%. Thus when the toe box portion 30' is folded over upon the forward or toe part 27 of the sole portion 26' the shoulders 29' will align with the bases of the tabs 33 and they can be folded around the shoulders 29' and pasted to the then obverse or exterior surface of the toe-box portion 3% to reinforce the ends of the pasted joints.

To further reduce the strain on the pasted side joints, the instep end of the toe-box portion of the blank or the toe-box member of the finished article has a wavelike or scalloped edge 35 with generally convex portions at both sides, a full convex portion at the center and intermediate concave portions between said convex portions. This formation will cause divergent lines of strain in a number of angular directions rather than straight across the instep edge of the toe-box and the chances of rupturing the pasted side joints is further reduced.

All constructions are similar and reinforce the same pasted joints at identical locations, the differences being that the tabs extend laterally in one basic form and longitudinally in the other form and in some instances are formed on the toe-box and are pasted on the sole while in the other instances said tabs are formed on the sole member and are pasted over the toe-box. The same result is obtained in all cases, that is, the inner ends of the side edge joints are secured against the likelihood of separating movements starting at these points.

The disposable foot covering is of the general form of a sandal and heretofore the pasted joints have been of a complicated nature and the ends of said joints have been unprotected so that they readily begin to rupture at these points due to strains resulting from pulling ac tions while forcing the foot into the article. In the present device the pliable character of the material causes the article to conform to the wearers foot and the pasted side edge joints are strengthened at their inner ends by the folded overlapping tabs so that the joints are unlikely to be broken. The construction herein outlined permits the article to be manufactured in a flat condition from sheet material resulting in an inexpensive item that can be produced through the use of simple automatic machine parts.

Of course we do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention what we claim as new and useful is:

l. A disposable foot covering fabricated of a single piece of flexible sheet material and comprising an elongate sole member having a forward part and a rear part, said forward part having convexly curved side edge margins, a toe-box member extending from the forward end of said forward part and folded to overlie the latter with its rearward end terminating substantially medially of said sole member, said toe-box member having side edge margins curved to extend contiguously along and in overlying face-to-face engagement with respective side edge margins of said forward part when said toe-box member is folded over said sole member, adhesive means extending rearwardly along the side edge margins of said toebox member and forward part and terminating at the rear edges of said toe-box member to secure said margins in said face-to-face engagement and define side joints, and relatively narrow tabs formed on opposite edges of one of said members at the rearward end of said toe-box member, said tabs each being folded onto and adhesively secured to the exterior surface of the other member and combining with said members to define triple-ply structure at the rearward ends of the side joints.

2. A disposable foot covering according to claim 1, wherein said tabs are formed on opposite side edges of said one member and folded about the contiguous side edge portions of said other member, whereby the tab folds secure together said toe-box member and the forward part of said sole member even after separation of the side edge margins of said members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lawson Oct. 9, 1928 Trimble Aug. 6, 1940 Turbin .Dec. 2, 1941 Eaton Feb. 21, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland May 31, 1895 

